Arthur Miller and his play Death of a Salesman
Abstract: This passage mainly introduces the greatest writer Arthur Miller and his famous play Death of a Salesman. It tells us the great influence of this story in American literature and even the whole world. It analys the main characters in this play Willy Loman and Charley, who is totally different from Willy. Through this passage, we may know what is the American Dream and why it will be disillusioned.
Key words: the American Dream, success, ambition, failure, salesman
Arthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include award-winning plays such as All My Sons, Death of a Salesman, and The Crucible. Miller was often in the public eye, particularly during the late 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s, a period during which he testified before the Hou Un-American Activities Committee, received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and was married to Marilyn Monroe.
Miller's career as a writer spanned over ven decades, and at the time of his death, Miller was considered to be one of the greatest dramatists of the twentieth century. After his death, many respected actors, directors, and producers paid tribute to Miller, some calling him the last great practitioner of the American stage, and Broadway theatres darkened their lights in a show of respect. Miller's alma mater, the University of Michigan opened the Arthur Miller Theatre in March, 2007. Per his express wish, it is the only theatre in the world that bears Miller's name. Now I am going to talk about one of his famous plays—Death of a Salesman.
Death of a Salesman is a 1949 play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. The play ran for 745 performances, winning both the Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize for drama. The original production was directed by Elian Kazan with Lee J. Cobb starring in the leading role of Willy Loman. In fact Death of a salesman is one big story of misd dreams and unrealized hopes in terms of money and the materialistic pursuit of wealth in a capitalist system. It has veral themes that run throughout the play, but the most obvious one is the idea of reality versus illusion or success versus failure which is the sou
rce of all conflicts in the play.
Willy believes wholeheartedly in what he considers the promi of the American Dream - which a “well liked” and “personally attractive” man in business will indubitably and dervedly acquire the material comforts offered by modern American life. So for years, Willy has believed that both he and his boys, particularly Biff, will one day be great success. Though he is a disrespected salesman, he calls himlf the New England man. “Though Biff has done nothing with his life by the age of thirty- four, Willy tells others and tries to make himlf believe that his son is doing big things out west. Unfortunately, he is mistaken. In reality, he and sons are not, and cannot, be successful. He los his job and one of his sons becomes a thief and the other a fake, a braggart. Willy’s brother, Ben, continually appears in the troubled man’s mind, offering hints on how to make it in the world of business. Will feels that he must live up to the standard that Ben has t, but this is found to be impossible by the end of the play. Just becau of this reality versus illusion problem which eventually brings about Willy’s downfall. In the end, Willy believes that a man can be “worth more dead than alive.” How is a sad version of th
e American dream like this to be told vividly? How can the most salient theme - the conflict between reality and illusion be reflected successfully? And how can it leave an indelible impression on the readers? Arthur Miller proves himlf to be a writer of no small talent by tting the most indispensable element of a play - character in patterns of contrast to deepen the theme. That means he us his main characters to contrast the difference between success and failure in this moving and powerful play.
Now let us glance at the list of the main characters in Death of a Salesman. Willy Loman, the protagonist, is an aging door - to - door salesman living in Brooklyn. He is lost in fal hopes and illusions. He is obsd with the American dream of financial prosperity as epitomized through his exceptionally successful big brother Ben. But the reality is harsh. The sales firm he works for no longer pays him salary. Working on straight commission, Willy cannot bring home enough money to pay his bills. After thirty - four years with the firm, they have spent his energy and discarded him. His two sons, Biff and Happy, are also failures, but Willy doesn’t want to believe this. He believes his boys are great and cannot understand why they are not successful. As he has grown older, he has trouble di
stinguishing between the past and prent - between illusion and reality and is often lost in flashbacks. He grows increasingly insane, eventually ending his life in suicide.
In contrast, Charley, Willy’s next door neighbor and only friend, stands for different beliefs and exemplifies the success that Willy never could achieve. Charley owns his own sales firm and is a quite successful businessman. He is respected and admired. He and Willy do not get along very well, but they are friends nonetheless. Charley is always being the voice of reason but Willy is too stubborn to listen to him. For instance, Charley warned Willy not to let his kids steal from a nearby construction site and that the night watchman would eventually catch them. Willy said, “I got a couple of fearless characters,” and Charley said, “The jails are full of fearless characters.” Charley is also the voice of reality in the play, trying to t Willy straight on the facts of Willy’s situation, but Willy refus to listen. For instance, when the salesman is fired, he feels humiliated and more desperate than ever. He goes straight to his friend Charley to borrow money. Charley offers him a job. But Willy can’t bring himlf to work for Charley becau this would be admitting failure.
